Archive press 2010

Taverna chiude il percorso su Diaghilev e i Balletti Russi

MONFALCONE Il percorso dedicato a Serghej Diaghilev e ai Balletti Russi, iniziato con concerto del duo Ferschtman-Barnatan, si è concluso con il recital del giovane pianista Alessandro Taverna. Al Teatro Comunale di Monfalcone il ventisettenne interprete ha presentato un programma che a prima vista sembrava uscire dalla traiettoria, per chi non sapesse che il balletto ”Le Silfidi” di Chopin ebbe la prima rappresentazione a Parigi nel 1909 con le coreografie di Michel Fokine, che peraltro propose una fantasia chopiniana due anni prima a San Pietroburgo. Il mosaico di Preludi, Notturni, Valzer e Mazurke è stato letto da Taverna in una luce crepuscolare, senza sfavillii di tutù, con un’eleganza trattenuta e malinconica, quasi risparmiando le forze per i fuochi d’artificio della sfrenata ”Grande Tarantella” di bravura dalla ”Muta dei Portici” di Daniel Auber, una delle innumerevoli trascrizioni di Liszt riservata ai virtuosi veramente impavidi. Superate con lode le strabilianti difficoltà, Taverna si è potuto rilassare con le Tre danze da ”Il cappello a tre punte “ di Manuel De Falla, un’esecuzione intelligente e calibrata anche se non infiammata dal “duende” ispanico. Divertente, ma non geniale il divertissement di Erik Satie dal titolo ”Jack in the Box”, un interludio prima del pezzo forte della serata, i Tre movimenti da “Petruška”, sontuosi tanto nella versione orchetrale quanto in quella pianistica. Alessandro Taverna ha colto di Stravinskij il rigore e la pulizia, il difficile equilibrio fra l’humor popolaresco e i risvolti drammatici della vicenda del povero burattino, mantenendo un controllo assoluto dell’insieme con uno slancio che non trascurava le voci interne, perfettamente sgranate nell’infuocato magma sonoro. Successo pienamente meritato e due gustosi bis al Comunale: un omaggio alla creatività di Friedrich Gulda, con un paio di ”esercizi” dal suo ”Play Piano Play”, fra jazz e contrappunto, e per finire, auguri al pubblico sulle note di Johann Strauss jr, con una vertiginosa versione dello ”Schatz-Walzer” ad opera di Ernö von Dohnányi.

Katja Kralj

il Piccolo — 18 dicembre 2010


Alessandro Taverna interpreta composiciones de Chopin

El pianista italiano cierra las actividades de 2010 de la Fundación Eutherpe

Joaquín Revuelta / León

Elpianista italiano Alessandro Taverna ha sido elegido por la Fundación Eutherpe para protagonizar esta tarde (20:00 horas) en el auditorio de la Obra Social de Caja España-Duero el concierto de clausura de su programa de actividades para el 2010. El artista, de veintisiete años yalumno en la Fundación Musical Santa Cecilia de Portogruaro de Laura Candiago Ferrari, ha elegido para su regreso a la capital leonesa un programa monográfico dedicado a Federico Chopin e integrado por las obras ‘Deux Nocturnes op. 62’, ‘Trois Valses brillantes op. 34’, ‘Scherzo No. 4 in E major, op. 54’ y ‘Sonata No. 3 in B major, op. 58’.
Alessandro Taverna obtuvosu titulación con 17 años y las más altas calificaciones, así como el diploma trienal en dirección con el profesor Rattalino en los Cursos internacionales de la Academia de perfeccionamiento de Portogruaro y final de alto Perfeccionamiento en la Academia Pianística Internacional ‘Incontri col Maestro’ (Encuentros con el Maestro) bajo la dirección de Franco Scala y Leonid Margarius; se ha perfeccionado posteriormente con Sergio Perticaroli en la Escuela Nacional de Santa Cecilia de Roma.
Taverna ha sido ganador de importantes premios nacionales e internacionales como el Villa de Venezia (2006); el Mozart-Pizzini Praemium (2008) o el segundo premio en el Concurso Internacional de Piano, Londres (2009) que le permitió actuar junto a la Orquesta Filarmónica de Londres en el Royal Festival Hall.
Entre sus próximos compromisos estará como estrella invitada con la Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra de Londres y la Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

La Crónica de León, 17.12.2010


THIS IS DEVON: Replacement pianist is astounding

Review: John Lyon

Thursday, October 21, 2010

WORLD famous pianist Imogen Cooper was lined up to be the star of North Devon Theatre’s Classical season, an eagerly awaited event at the Queen’s Theatre. Until she broke her arm, so any stand-in would be up against it from the start. But the replacement booking was something of a master stroke because it gave Devon music lovers the opportunity to hear the phenomenal talent of young musician Alessandro Taverna.
The Venice-born winner of a box-full of international piano competition prizes provided a fiery night of music from the pens of a broad spectrum of composers whose styles gave him scope to show off his brilliant technique. From the sharp harpsichord strains of Bach’s Fifth English Suite, through stormy Beethoven scherzos, two lyrical nocturnes of Chopin and the delightful story-telling of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, he had everyone marvelling at his artistry.
The highlight was Liszt’s resounding Tarantelle di Bravura, full of lively crashing chords, dazzlingly fast runs mixed with harmonious discord created by a composer experimenting with his own brilliant technique to demand only the highest skill from performer and instrument. Alessandro certainly fully stepped into the breach and I think the Queen’s concert grand was soundly beaten into submission by the end!

The Italian maestro even finished with a vibrant jazzy encore which brought more roars of approval. You almost felt sorry for those who gave the event a miss because the star couldn’t be there.


Astonishing demonstration of innate skill and musical insight

Alessandro Taverna for Keswick Music Society: Although he was not the original choice of artist for this date in the Keswick Music Society’s calendar, no-one could have been remotely disappointed with the performance we heard on Sunday evening.
Indeed, one could go so far as to assert that you would be unlikely to hear a better recital anywhere than Alessandro Taverna’s brilliant exposition of technical skill and musical insight.
His programme was wide-ranging in style, encompassing mainstream piano composers as well as some pieces not originally composed for the piano. J. S. Bach was not a noted devotee of the infant pianos of his day, preferring to stick with the tried and tested harpsichord with which he had grown up.
However, his contrapuntal textures sound well on the modern piano, and Alessandro Taverna successfully projected a suitable range of phrasing and dynamics at tempi which were realistic. Beethoven’s Sonata No.13 in E flat is unusual in form, but the contrasting sections were welded together effectively, with a respect for the classical antecedents from which he was breaking free. Liszt’s Tarantelle di bravura was altogether a different matter, being a showy display piece based on an opera by Auber, in which Taverna’s technique was much in evidence.
After the interval, in a tribute to Chopin’s bicentenary, we heard two of his Nocturnes and the Scherzo No.4 in E major. In the first Nocturne in B major, the audience was completely silent and spell-bound for the first time, in appreciation of the limpid delivery of these beautifully ornate melodies and sometimes unexpected harmonies.
There was a delicacy of touch and sense of atmosphere in all three pieces, towards which our soloist seemed particularly sympathetic. The mood changed completely with the final advertised work, Stravinsky’s own arrangements of three movements from his ballet Petrouchka, which were played with scintillating style. As an encore, we heard some jazzy extracts from Play Piano Play by Friedrich Gulda.

All this from a 27-year old pianist was a remarkable achievement, and every piano student should have been there to see and hear what can be accomplished with drive, determination and a generous helping of innate skill.


Chopin ‘riletto’ da Taverna e raccontato da Piero Rattalino

Domani il concerto di uno dei pianisti più lanciati a livello internazionale. E martedì la conferenza del grande musicologo che presenta il suo libro.

pubblicato il 10 ottobre 2010 su il ‘Corriere Romagna’

TAVERNA INCANTA PORTOGRUARO

Il giovane talento si è esibito con brani da Schumann, Chopin e Gulda

1 Settembre 2010 – Profeta in patria. «Il pianista Alessandro Taverna, gloria della Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia, torna a Portogruaro per l’Estate Musicale».

Così è stato salutato il concerto che Alessandro Taverna, giovane di Caorle, cresciuto musicalmente alla Scuola Santa Cecilia di Portogruaro ha tenuto il 23 agosto scorso al nuovo Teatro L. Russalo con un recital dedicato a Schumann e Chopin, nel duecentesimo anniversario dalla nascita dei due compositori.
Un ritorno tanto gradito (Alessandro aveva praticamente inaugurato, lo scorso anno, il nuovissimo e molto apprezzato teatro della Città del Lemene) in quanto il pianista tornava in Italia dopo una serie di concerti in Europa e negli Stati Uniti, paesi che ne hanno decretato la fama internazionale grazie anche ad alcuni concorsi di livello mondiale dove si è classificato ai primissimi posti.
Da Schumann, Taverna ha eseguito i primi due Fantasiestucke op. 12, ‘Des Abends’ (A sera) e ‘Aufschwung’ (Slancio), specchio fedele della personalità doppia del loro autore, più volte chiamata in causa dal Festival di Portogruaro che proprio al ‘Doppio’ si ispira e si rivolge. I pezzi scelti per omaggiare l’anniversario chopiniano appartengono all’ultima fase creativa del compositore polacco: i Due notturni op. 62, lo Scherzo n. 4 op. 54 e la Sonata n. 3 op. 58. Tutti composti negli anni ’40 dell’Ottocento, incarnano uno stile maturo, approdo e sintesi di un percorso artistico che ha prodotto un pianismo rinnovato tanto nella struttura formale, quanto nella concezione della timbrica.
Anche questi pezzi, disseminati di ‘doppi’, strizzano l’occhio al tema del Festival e aprono la strada all’ultimo compositore in programma, l’austriaco Friedrich GuIda. Additato dalla critica come ‘scandalistico’ e bohémien, GuIda rappresenta il ‘doppio’ in chiave moderna: nella sua musica classica e jazz si fondono audacemente, come dimostrato dalla selezione di ‘Esercizi’, tratti dalla raccolta Play piano play.
Alessandro Taverna, che ha studiato e si è perfezionato con Piero Rattalino ai Corsi Internazionali tenuti dalla Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia, ha come detto – vinto numerosi premi internazionali (nel 2003 primo premio allo Scriabin, nel 2009 primo al Minnesota International Piano Competition, secondo al London International e terzo al Leeds International) e si esibisce da anni come solista nell’ambito di prestigiose stagioni concertistiche in italia e all’estero.

A Portogruaro, tiene il corso di pianoforte principale presso la Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia.


 HARROGATE ADVERTISER

By Rick Burin. With a set that comprised the first half of the evening, pianist Alessandro Taverna gave an ecstatically-received performance.

Apparently having just as good a time as the audience, he played selections from Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Moszkowski, with highlights including a delicate take on Chopin’s Nocturne in B major, Op. 62 and an exuberant “Carmen Fantasy” by Busoni.
He concluded with several uptempo pieces by Viennese pianist Friedrich Gulda, which brought down the house.

Published date: 30 July 2010


The Darlington and Stockton Times

St Mary’s Church, Norton, Stockton 

The Darlington and Stockton Times, Published Date: 09 July 2010

WITH a smaller piano (the Steinway B from Stockton Parish Church) and some changes to the program he had played at Aldborough Festival, the concert by Leeds International piano competition prize-winner Alessandro Taverna at Norton was much better balanced and allowed him to show more poetry rather than merely virtuosity.
As at Aldborough, he began with a very acceptable account of Bach’s 5th English Suite, BWV 810 before going on to Beethoven’s E flat Piano Sonata, Quasi una fantasia, a performance of never overstated distinction and full of character.
Then he indulged his virtuosity with contrast of Liszt’s Tarantella di Bravura d’apres la tarantella de la mute de Portici, surmounting the piece’s technical hurdles with style and precision and evoking an equally bravura response from the audience.
Things were quieter after the interval with Chopin’s Nocturnes op 61/1 and 2, preparing the ground for a much more poetically dramatic and imaginative account of the Scherzo no 4 in E, op 54 than at Aldborough.
There was a return to rich colours, rhythmic drive and vertiginous scales with the final work of the evening, Stravinsky’s Three movements from the ballet Petrouchka, which brought the audience to its feet, before a delightful jazz-inspired encore composed by the late Viennese Mozart specialist and concert pianist, Friedrich Gulda.

Dave Robson

Review: The Yorkshire Post


Published Date: 02 July 2010

By David Denton

We hailed the Italian pianist, Alessandro Taverna, as the outstanding poet of the keyboard during his progress through the Leeds International Piano Competition, but nine months later he arrives at the Northern Aldborough Festival bristling with extrovert virtuosity.
He opened with Bach’s Fifth English Suite, a composer with whom he seems to have little musical relationship, and things did not get that much more exciting with a very ordinary account of Chopin’s Introduction and Rondo.
Then everything moved up a few gears with a display of pyrotechnics in Liszt’s incredibly difficult Tarantelle di Bravura, flashing around the keyboard creating moments where it appeared he had three hands, the mercurial and sizzling runs the length of the keyboard of staggering brilliance.
Maybe two huge pieces by Liszt was asking too much, but he met the demands of the Reminiscances de Norma. By the time he reached the three dances from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka it was inevitable fatigue would tell, yet he shone bright and encores were much in demand from the capacity audience.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/the-arts/review_alessandro_taverna_1_2579873?action=logout


AWARD WINNING INTERNATIONAL PIANIST SET TO PLAY IN TEESSIDE

One of the world’s most celebrated young musicians, Alessandro Taverna, will be heading to Teesside in June to perform a highly anticipated piano recital.
Multi-awarding winning Alessandro, 26, from Caorle near Venice, Italy, will be performing pieces from Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Bach at St Mary’s Church, Norton, on June 27th.
Alessandro, who was a finalist at the renowned Leeds International Piano Competition in 2009 has been described by critics as a brilliant young musician and a natural successor to his great compatriot Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.
Organiser, Dawn Seymour, of Red Ribbon Events, said: Its a major coup for us to have such a talented and highly-awarded pianist like Alessandro coming to the region and performing. He has an incredibly hectic schedule traveling around the world, performing at countless recitals and competitions so we are honoured he is coming to Teesside.
An audience of approximately 200 people is expected to fill St Mary’s Church to see the rising star perform and as a lover of classical music, I for one am very excited.

Alessandro is a vibrant young talent, who has won numerous awards in national and international competitions. In April 2009 he was awarded second prize in the London International Piano Competition having played Chopin Concerto No. 1 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall.
Whilst at the distinguished Leeds International Piano Competition he was awarded third prize after playing with the Halle Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder.
He has performed throughout the world, including Berlin’s prestigious Konzerthaus and New York’s Steinway Halls. He has also recorded for Radio Classica in Italy, for the Slovenian National Radio Television and for Classic FM Radio in South Africa.
Red Ribbon Events has also organised for Alessandro to play at Penrith Methodist Church, Penrith, on June 24th and Beverley Minster, Beverley, on June 25th.

By SarahRudd on June 1, 2010

http://ts20.gazettelive.co.uk/communities/whats-on/award-winning-international-pianist-set-to-play-in-teesside/ 


Italian concert pianist returns to Yorkshire

Inspiration: Concert pianist Alessandro Taverna has an affinity with Bach, who was known for his mathematical precision, as he is studying mechanical engineering.

Published Date: 19 June 2010

As a six-year-old, Alessandro Taverna discovered he had a rare gift. After hearing a piece of music on the television, the future concert pianist sat down at the family’s keyboard and played the tune.
‘I was never forced to learn the piano,’ he told the Mail from his home near Venice, Italy.
‘It was just something I discovered for myself. I can remember I was able to repeat things I had heard on the TV.
‘And the reason I continue to play now is not just because it is a job. It is because I love it.’
That ease with music has seen the 26-year-old, who performs at Beverley Minster on Friday, win acclaim around the world.
There have been appearances at New York’s Steinway Halls and the Royal Festival Hall – where he finished second in last year’s London International Piano Competition.
But he says it was in Yorkshire, where he took third place at the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, that his career properly started.
He said: ‘My life changed after Leeds.
‘I started to get more and more recitals – I’m playing five this month in England.
‘It is a beautiful country, my favourite along with Italy.
‘For its musical life, England remains the only country in Europe, maybe along with Germany, where you attend recitals and people are so focused and concentrated when you play.’
For his appearance at the Minster, Alessandro is performing works by Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt.
But it is perhaps a piece by Bach, English Suite Number 5, which will chime best with the surroundings.
He said: ‘I wanted to do Bach because it is so spiritual and it is almost like a summary of that Baroque age. There is a gravity in the music – and there is character to it.
‘It is magic because you are hearing something that Bach wrote hundreds of years ago – it is like hearing his voice.’
His affinity with Bach – known for the mathematical precision of his work – has inspired another change in his life.
Alessandro has enrolled as a mechanical engineering student at a neighbouring institution, The University Of Padua.
While his recitals take precedence, he is hoping to take his exams this summer.
He said: ‘In Bach, you’ve got those spiritual aspects and the mathematical ones.
‘I have always been quite scientifically minded.
‘I love my music, but sometimes it’s good to try something a little different, a little crazy.’

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/beverley/Italian-concert-pianist-returns-Yorkshire/article-2324863-detail/article.html


ALESSANDRO TAVERNA e SCHUMANN: la tecnica al servizio dell’idea

di Gaetano Lo Presti.

Due cuori e una capanna. Anzi, trattandosi di Robert Schumann e Clara Wieck, era, forse, meglio dire “due cuori e un pianoforte”. Nonostante gli stenti che caratterizzarono gli inizi del matrimonio, infatti, nella loro casa, nel 1840, non mancava un pianoforte. Uno solo, però: quello di Clara. E lei, che pure era una grande concertista, lo lasciava usare a piacimento al marito perché potesse comporre in tranquillità. Uno dei pezzi che ne venne fuori fu la KonzertPhantasie suonata da Clara al Gewandhaus di Lipsia il 13 agosto 1841. Viste le insistenze della moglie, Schumann nel 1845 vi aggiunse un intermezzo e un finale facendolo diventare un concerto per pianoforte. Nacque, così, il Concerto in la minore, il concerto romantico per eccellenza, che il 20 aprile è stato eseguito al Teatro “Giacosa”, nell’ambito della serata della “Saison Culturelle” che “Sinfonica- Orchestra Giovanile della Valle d’Aosta”, diretta da Enrico Bronzi, ha dedicato al compositore tedesco di cui ricorre il secondo centenario della nascita.
Solista è stato il ventiseienne pianista veneto Alessandro Taverna. «Schumann- ha spiegato- è l’autore in cui maggiormente la musica riflette l’esistenza, in particolare il rapporto sentimentale con Clara. Il concerto ne è una testimonianza: in alcuni punti sembra, infatti, di sentire più Clara che Robert. E’ qualcosa che sta tra la Sinfonia e il Concerto, senza passaggi virtuosistici impossibili perché la tecnica è sempre al servizio dell’idea.» Un po’ come il panismo di Taverna, che, comunque, in fatto di virtuosismo non scherza. Lo testimoniano i premi ottenuti lo scorso anno ai concorsi pianistici di Londra, Leeds e Minneapolis, che, uniti alle entusiastiche recensioni su “Times” e “Guardian” (che parlavano di “impeccabili minuti di intensa poesia” regalati nel Concerto n°1 di Chopin), hanno aperto a Taverna le porte del circuito concertistico inglese. «Cerco suonare com’è giusto suonare.- si schermisce- Mi sono lasciato guidare da bravi maestri, a cominciare dalla mia seconda mamma Laura Candiago, conservando, però, le mie caratteristiche personali e pensando la musica sulla base della mia esperienza di vita. Affronto i pezzi puntando sulla freschezza e tentando di dare un’interpretazione che esprima la mia personalità nel margine di libertà consentito dalla partitura. Tengo, in ogni caso, presente la storia dell’interpretazione, che i pianisti devono continuamente recuperare e approfondire, e che per il concerto di Schumann non può prescindere dalla lettura di Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.» Nel corso della serata, intitolata “Amico Schumann”, “Sinfonica” ha eseguito altre opere del compositore tedesco: l’Ouverture dall’opera “Genoveva” e la Sinfonia n. 3 op. 97.

(da ‘La Stampa’ di sabato 17 aprile 2010)

http://gaetanolopresti.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/alessandro-taverna-e-schumann-la-tecnica-al-servizio-dell%E2%80%99idea/ 


Eutherpe se viste de gala para el concierto de clausura de esta noche

Diario de León, 11/04/2010 […] Ayer, el público quedó sorprendido del nivel, la soltura y la seguridad de los intérpretes, que cuajaron un gran concierto con un Alessandro Taverna para el que no tengo adjetivos».

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